Mid-century Homes Continue to Thrill

Mid-century Homes Continue to Thrill

October 12, 2018

One of the most iconic and striking mid-century homes built as part of the Case Study House Program has hit the market again, this time for $3.6mil. At only 1,280 sq.ft. in an open-floor layout, the 1958 home in the Hollywood Hills is hardly a mega-mansion. Instead, “Case Study House No. 21″ is a study in revered minimalism. The home is one of less than 2 dozen structures still standing from a program started in 1945 by John Entenza, the publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine. Entenza challenged some of the biggest architects of the day — including Richard Neutra, Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames — to design and build inexpensive homes that could be easily replicated to house the country’s booming post-war population.

House No. 21, designed by architect Paul Koenig, is a 2BR/2BA home with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a steel frame with steel paneled walls. The bedrooms are separated from the living room and kitchen by a central outdoor court. There’s also a shallow moat-like pond surrounding the structure. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1999, shortly after Koenig himself supervised a restoration.

Case Study homes often fetch hefty prices given their architectural importance. Actress Kristen Wiig paid $3mil for Pasadena’s Case Study House No. 10 in late 2017. Case Study House No. 18, in Pacific Palisades, hit the market earlier this year for $10mil. Mid-century (and copycat) architecture continues to dominate the L.A. luxury market as one the most-desired home styles (see our 2 mid-mod pocket listings, Multiview Drive and Hollyridge Drive). Let us know if you’re interested in buying or selling a mid-century home. We’ve helped many happy clients do so.